I have been gazing at the city of Edinburgh from our room and I can tell part of my soul feels settled. My dream of going to school here to study writing (which never happened for many reasons) has been resolved, the regret and questions of what could have been are answered. It would have been something to be here in my youth, but my life has been just as interesting (and I am indeed a writer and a prolific one at that, though not the type of writer I fantasized becoming), and there is no answer to the question of what might have been. The prophetic words of Robert Frost have been whispering in my ear the whole time:

The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Let me start by saying I’m a bit homesick but so far it has been a great trip. It’s been busy! Starting on March 15th when I arrived in London and then jetting to Amsterdam I met with over 70 reporters! The best part: I got to spend time with my distributors who own Paula’s Choice Europe and Paula’s Choice United Kingdom. These women are wonderful and their hospitality made me feel more at home.

After all the interviews and meetings we got to spend a couple of days walking around Amsterdam. As many times as I’ve been here, the mix of old world charm and tumultuous history always surprises me. Even though the city is now muddled by marijuana cafes and the infamous red-light district, it is all confusing, strange, and magnificent all at the same time.

On a more mundane note, I did something to injure my back. I’m fairly certain it was the hotel bed in Amsterdam but my back is in excruciating pain. Can you believe it?! I’m eating Advil for breakfast, lunch, high tea, and dinner!

As we left the runway in Amsterdam en route to Scotland, I felt a renewed sense of anticipation despite dreading what sitting for the flight would do to my back. Luckily, all the flights to Edinburgh went fine and as usual Harsha (my boyfriend) is a wonderful traveling companion. We’re staying in a beautiful hotel!

Edinburgh is a wonderful city, though weather-wise it is just miserable! With the gusting winds off their Sound and the North Sea, it’s worse than Seattle. It does have a haunting, stately beauty with handsome stone facades and towering parapets surrounded by rolling city streets and hills in the distance. Without question, there’s a sense of time standing still as you gaze upon centuries-old buildings surrounded by Scotland’s fabled landscapes.

Holyrood House, the royal palace in Scotland was interesting. It’s so stark and simple in comparison to mainland Europe or Russian palaces. The history here is fascinating. The relationship to the English and the rest of Europe is steeped in brutal, bloody politics played out in war, marriages and alliances consolidated around money, position, religion, and country of origin. The combinations and permutations are mind-boggling.

We had one gorgeous (though really windy) day and took the advantage to drive out to the countryside and see the town of St. Andrews and their famous golf course. We sat and had a scotch in a proper British club overlooking the course and the North Sea in the distance. It was a gorgeous drive getting there (and I do enjoy a good scotch): idyllic rolling hills lined with perfect acres of farmland. Sheep and their spring lambs along with Angus cows dot the landscape like a movie set: it can’t be real. I kept thinking I would see Brigadoon around every corner.

Tomorrow we take a train ride out to Inverness in the highlands for a few days and then onto Monte Carlo. (My dream of having a cigar and a single malt 30 year old scotch in the Highlands is nigh!).

We arrived in Kathmandu Saturday evening and went directly to the Hyatt. The Hyatt here is a beautiful hotel, a respectable blend of contemporary construction and Nepali design. I still can’t believe we are in Nepal—it is surrealistic to say the least. Sunday morning we woke up early and drove to a viewpoint in the hills, a small town called Nagarkot, to see a section of the Himalayas. It was amazing, though the ride up was nothing less then terrifying, cars and buses play an outlandish game of chicken at every turn with only inches of shoulder area abutting a sheer drop off. These drivers are crazy! I’ll gladly accept a ride in a New York City taxicab any day of the week compared to this terror!

From Nagarkot we toured a couple of town areas. City streets here are almost identical to India but a bit cleaner and less densely populated. Kathmandu has a population of about 6 million spread out over twisty, dusty, pot-holed streets in a valley surrounded by foothills with peek-a-boo views of the snow-capped mountains, amidst cascading, steep plots of farmed land. Regrettably, like many major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong) smog hangs thickly over the landscape like a veil of stagnant, gray-stained air that never dissipates.

People here in Kathmandu look mostly Indian with a smattering of East Asian features. The language is similar in script to Hindu and Harsha can read it but the manner of speaking is hard for him to understand, I liken it to the way I feel when I’m trying to understand Australian slang.

There are three historic town squares in the area. We drove to one after we left Nagarkot called Bhaktapur, an ancient area where 400- to 500- year-old buildings hug the street and Hindu temples adorn every corner. In India the Hindu temples are stone and marble monument-like buildings; here in Nepal they are modest, mostly brick and carved wooden structures that are minimally restored (and in risk of falling apart), fashioned in a somewhat tiered pagoda style.

I have finally become a bit adept at understanding Hindu lore, and it is beguiling. Nepal, in contrast to India, is fervently religious (non-Hindus cannot enter those temples) and processions in their town squares occur randomly throughout the day. Buddhists are in smaller numbers but their stupas are attended by devotees with adoration and patience. It was particularly interesting when we passed one school where all the students were lined up outside in straight rows, solemnly praying for the gift of education. Fascinating.

Later that day as the sun was setting we stopped at one more section of Kathmandu called Pashupati where more then a dozen Hindu temples are crammed together along a small river bed. In the center of this area an outdoor platform is used as a crematorium and it is continually ablaze with wood stoked pyres sending the dead to their next reincarnation. None of that seemed disturbing until I saw one of the attendants sweep the smoldering embers and remaining pieces of burnt logs into the river below. Along with endless piles of garbage littering the water the amount of dangerous pollution being thrown into the city’s water supply was painful to see.

That night we went to bed early so we could get up early for our next excursion. In the morning with some trepidation we took a flight to get an aerial view of the Himalayas. Shortly after take off, up close and personal, the sheer faced, rugged tops of the mountains appeared. With utter bewilderment we tried to comprehend the panorama before us. We gasped and strained our necks to behold the implausible. Spellbound, we stared at the stretch of Himalayas we slowly flew past. Geologically speaking the 2400-mile long Himalayan range is very young which explains their gargantuan size. Pyramidesque vaulted formations are endless, like fingertips reaching up to touch heaven. Then finally, after about 25 minutes of flight time, Everest in all its 29,000 feet of pinnacled glory comes into view. It indeed stands above the rest: a haunting shadow embedded in a landscape of glacier and rock. For me what was most astounding was realizing that Washington’s Mt. Rainier would barely be a blip in the Himalayan expanse. Envision that Everest is almost three times the size of Mt. Rainier, but even more astonishing is that several of the other mountains are at least twice to two and a half times Rainier’s size. If there is any sense of being at the top of the world it is surely here and if God is listening, at this height, it is a toll-free call.

I’m back in Mumbai now waiting for my plane to go home. After 5 weeks of being on the road I am ready to leave and head back. I long for Seattle, a comparatively quiet, organized part of the world where stop lights and stop signs have meaning, pedestrians have the right of way, people don’t spit on the ground among other bodily functions inches away from you, and cows, camels, and monkeys don’t have access to the streets.

It has all been a richly diverse, intriguing experience but truly there is no place like home.

I rarely write travelogues as I travel so much, but I’ve been to so many exotic places lately and there is so much I want to share!

It’s been several weeks since I first hit the road. London was my first stop and it was great. The weather was unusually mild and when I wasn’t doing interviews I walked all over the place. I saw two new London stage musicals; Priscilla Queen of the Desert and a show about the Rat Pack’s performance in Las Vegas. They were both wonderful!

From London I went to Mumbai to meet my boyfriend Harsha who picked me up at the airport. You only have to walk outside of the Mumbai airport to know you are not in Kansas anymore! The rush of people, cars, and heat overwhelms and astounds you from the get-go.

For the first few days in Mumbai I spent most of the time sleeping (I was exhausted) and spent some time with Harsha’s mom (we actually got along nicely). I took her and her best friend out to dinner and while I barely understood a thing they said (the Indian accent is still tricky for me), they were a hoot and we laughed and laughed (of course I have no idea about what).

After our time in Mumbai we went to Goa, just south of Mumbai. Goa is one of India’s coastal resort areas. It is a small state, only 1.3 million people and has a strong Portuguese history. There are lots of churches and people who have Christian names instead of traditional Indian names. The beach there was lovely and our room at the Hyatt postcard-perfect. Restaurants in the hotel were pricy but the beach shacks (a short stroll down the shoreline) served really cheap, but really great, seafood. The downside? The weather was just toooooo hot and muggy for me. I mean really, really hot and muggy. Thankfully there was a good storm one day which was gorgeous. The seas changed from a calm pool to turbulent crashing waves and the air cooled a bit!

The beginning of the second week we left for Udaipur which is the desert region of India where most of the palaces of the Rajahs were built. It was fascinating and magnificent to see a completely different facet of the country. The weather was perfect! Dry, warm, desert air, along with incredible views. All of this amidst a thriving small town that, while still impoverished, is beautifuly rich in tradition. With village life all around, our hotel at the Oberois was truly magnificent! Truly one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever been in.

It was hard to leave Udaipur but we packed up three days later and were on a plane to Delhi. Delhi is a completely different part of India and 180 degrees from Mumbai (think New York in comparison to Washington D.C.). Delhi is the seat of parliament so it’s organized around huge, magnificent embassies, hotels, and government offices. The mall area is definitely reminiscent of D.C. Once you pass through the area known as New Delhi, you head into the old city where the small crowded streets, outrageous traffic, crowds, and village life begin again.

Delhi proved to be too much city life for us (as did Mumbai) so one day later we departed for Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We hired a car and driver to get us there on one of the most tumultuous road trips ever. The 6 hour trip, including brief stops at a couple of shrines, was one of the most mind-boggling experiences ever. The same madness and turmoil of the city streets are on the main roads and highways that link cities together. It is a never-ending game of dodging hordes of every obstacle imaginable and some I never knew existed.

The most intriguing site during this 6-hour road trip was the Hari Krishna temple in the town of Mathura. While there, we were met by pleasant devotees in orange saris and pantaloons who wanted us to buy their books and yes, they chanted on and on. It all felt very San Francisco, circa 1970. The town of Mathura is thought to be the birthplace of Krishna and temples punctuate the landscape like a series of rolling hills and mountains.

Late in the morning the next day, we saw the Taj Mahal which was just astounding. One of the most pure, colossal pieces of architectural precision I’ve ever seen. The turrets, domes, mosques, and white stones merge in a flawless feat of engineering triumph that is both jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring. Flawless in almost every respect it is a stunning work of art. The passionate brilliance becomes etched in your mind starting at the very first moment it comes in to view. It is an enduring image, completely penetrating in a mystical way that isn’t easy to explain.

An hour outside Agra is a town called Fatehpur Sikri where the capital of the region moved to after being centralized in Agra. Fatehpur Sikri is an astounding walled city dating from the 1500′s complete with a moat and royal residence. Inside the imposing red sandstone walls are ramparts, palaces, homes, and apartments built for a completely unique style of court life. The palaces included a home for the king’s three wives, one who was a Hindu, the other a Muslim, and the other a Christian. This Muslim king believed we should all live together as one religion sharing one air to be close to the one Lord. He actually gave each of his wives the ability to follow their beliefs with complete freedom. This king is know for trying to create a single religion that incorporated the belief in one God, fairly radical for the time, or any time for that matter.

Today, we drove back to Delhi and caught a plane to Kathmandu in Nepal to see the Himalayas and Mt. Everest. It was only a one hour flight from Delhi. I can’t begin to explain my excitement. The idea of seeing the Himalayas and Mt. Everest made me feel giddy like a teenager. Shortly after takeoff in the distance, appeared the towering, exalted, picturesque mountains of the Himalayas. Barely able to breathe I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I live in Seattle surrounded by mountains but these jagged, monoliths etched from God’s hands made everything else seem insignificant. Tomorrow we are off for some sightseeing and a plane ride over Everest.

Harsha and I travel great together. It has been an open-ended kind of schedule where we literally take it one city at a time and then we decide whether we want to stay or go. Once we determine where we want to venture next we make the necessary reservations. Making it even more wonderful is that we tend to have the same pace. We seem to have the same need for down time and naps and little need to see everything at each stop along the way. He is also completely accommodating when I’m not comfortable about something and I do the same for him. He also can take charge in a way that makes me feel safe and protected and he doesn’t mind when I need to take charge. That is just the best!

We also love food (that isn’t the best, at least not for my hopes to lose the weight I’ve gained, but damn it is fun). Eating has been a delightful, exceptionally spicy, aromatic adventure. We eat different styles of Indian cuisine wherever we go, though now we are looking forward to Nepal cuisine. Wherever we go we prefer local places serving hot, pungent dishes (well, relatively local; so far my tummy and, well, the rest of me is doing pretty good).

India is an amazing part of the world! One of the most distinctive, unique travel experiences I’ve ever had. Some of it is being with Harsha (it helps having someone who speaks Hindi—not to mention someone I love) but mostly it is a country with little parallel in the world. The main cities are a confluence of the modern business world, vibrant young people along with a huge film industry as pervasive as Hollywood is to the United States (ergo the name Bollywood). All of this is inextricably mixed with rampant extreme poverty and rural, archaic, village life.

Outside of Mumbai there really are cows in the street (lots of cows and big bulls with horns) along with goats, camels, donkeys, pigs and the occasional family of monkeys. Elephants too (well, one elephant) along with wild boars and their baby boars in tow. Sadly, there are also way too many stray dogs. Staggering destitution is everywhere (though particularly sickening in Mumbai where vast slums of the most inhumane conditions abound).

No matter where you go, you see a procession of mismatched, endless buildings; some new, some decaying, flanked by small, closet-sized shops crammed together between food stands and abandoned shacks. On top of this, the meandering streets have the most insane traffic I’ve ever seen. Everyone and everything in the streets are jockeying around the animals, cars, bicycles, motorbikes, buses, trucks and farm equipment. All of this along with small motorized cars called rickshaws which are stuffed with passengers, vendor carts that are pulled by horses or camels, and endless parades of people punctuated by women dressed in bright colorful saris. It is all utter chaos that absolutely no one reacts to other than with a cacophony of incessant horn blasts. I mean no one bats an eye or even grunts at the infinite number of times they come within millimeters of hitting someone or being hit (well except for me that is, my startle response is being exhausted).

I have one more installment after I leave Nepal. But for now that’s all the news fit to print. Thanks for joining me on my journey!

A customer wrote in asking me what I do for skin care when I travel and I do travel, over 100,000 miles every year, sometimes more. From Australia to Korea, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, and throughout the United States too, over a 12 month period it is exhausting and wonderful.

When on a plane there really isn’t anything all that special to do in flight. Most of what you read in fashion and travel magazines about this topic doesn’t make sense (I’ll explain why). In the long run you have to experiment with what works for you but here are some basics that can help you the next time you have to go somewhere in the friendly skies:

It is indeed drier at 35,000 feet, but if you don’t have dry skin it doesn’t really matter. If you have dry skin and you are taking a long flight somewhere you may need to reapply moisturizer or a really good toner (loaded with state of the art ingredients not just water and slip agents), of course that assumes you are not wearing makeup. If you are wearing makeup, spraying water over your face is useless, it won’t get to the skin cells through the foundation. If you aren’t wearing makeup spraying your face with water is useless unless you apply a moisturizer over it very quickly as it will just be evaporated by the air.

In terms of expensive water, your skin cells can’t tell the difference between what kind of water you put on it (assuming it is potable water). The only cells water can really affect are the skin cells on the surface (the corneocytes of the epidermis) and they’re dead. The healthy ingredients for skin (skin identical ingredients, antioxidants, and cell communicating ingredients) applied on a daily basis will make skin far less dry, or eliminate it all together (but you have to use it every day!).

Because of airport security I always have my travel packets with me. In the years following security screenings my flat travel packets have always gotten through every airport around the world in my carry on luggage. They get by all on their own without taking up precious room in that little quart container you have to use for other liquids and creams. Not every company offers samples of all their products, or even some of their products, so in this case I’m making a shameless plug for my line Paula’s Choice (www.paulaschoice.com).

For long flights over 6 hours I travel without makeup. It is better for my skin and I hate having to wash up twice in those tiny little bathrooms. Just before I land, if I have an appointment I have to get to, I do wash up in the bathroom, apply my skin care routine and then apply my makeup. It looks a lot better that way.

For shorter flights I just wear my makeup as usual only I don’t powder until just before I land when I touch up my makeup. That way I don’t have anything drying on my face during the flight.

A higher altitude in the outdoors does require a higher rated SPF, but in an airplane up in the sky not much UV light is getting through those tiny windows. What you normally wear for sun protection, meaning an SPF 15 or greater will do just fine.

Happy trails!

My phone doesn’t work well here at least as far as messages are concerned. I’m doing great though: no mosquito bites, no problems from the malaria pills, and no stomach upset from all the shots and immunizations required before traveling to this part of the world.

It has been a fascinating learning experience and I mean really, really, really fascinating. On some level I could just be in New York or Hong Kong or Sydney, but then on a closer look the poverty and the plethora of buildings that are falling apart just takes your breath away and overwhelms your heart. I have never seen poverty like this. And the heat in their spring!  You can barely walk outside without melting. It is almost painful!

The business meetings have been incredible but not what I expected in the least. From a business perspective this country seems simultaneously behind the times and up to speed in the millennium. From an Internet perspective they are somewhere in the mid-90s. But the economy is growing by leaps and bounds and as a result there is an amazing amount of progress and development but there is also an immense amount of confusion, political turmoil, unbelievable unemployment, there is need for far more development, and bribery is still a way of doing business. So why am I bothering? Because feedback from businesswomen in India and from consumers has been loud and clear that they want Paula’s Choice products available locally. How amazing!

In order for me to sell Paula’s Choice here I would need to manufacture my products here. I’m trying to figure out how to do that, which has been a 180 degree shift from what I originally thought (meaning my plan was to ship my products here from our Seattle warehouse). Importing is beyond costly (duties, special regulatory requirements that don’t apply to local products) and there are skin care products in this country selling for $3 U.S. funds (they are really awful formulations but they are cheap to make).

My boyfriend who hails from Mumbai has been helping quite a bit. He has been coming with me for most of my meetings. His being able to speak the local language (either Hindi or Marathi) is extremely helpful. There are many times that English just doesn’t work despite the fact that everyone speaks English for the most part. The fact remains that many people are still most comfortable speaking their native tongue. Sometimes it is word choice but often it is just pronunciation; sometimes it is the way they shake their head (I think they are saying no and they are just shaking their heads—imagine the comical situations that can lead to!).

I find the Indian people quite formal and extremely polite and considerate. They also have a great, quirky sense of humor which is wonderful (everyone gets my jokes and they are willing to laugh out loud which is just great).

I’m still not sure I can do business here with the same high standards I hold myself to in other countries, but I am convinced that it is so worth it to continue the investigation and give it a try. The emerging middle class and the desire for information is a pulse you can feel. Women here are amazing. I’ve met with many female business owners or in high-level mid-management positions. They are assertive, smart, savvy, and intense but very service-oriented. They hold to tradition but long to be global. And it is interesting to note that no matter where I travel, the demand for effective, well-formulated skin-care products remains a universal desire.

On a side note, other than culture shock, one particularly unique aspect of Indian society is that everyone (and I mean everyone) lives with their parents until they get married, and often even then they remain with their parents, never moving out.

I clearly stand out here like a sore thumb (at least when I’m dressed up for meetings and wearing full makeup), not in the hotels, but in meetings or driving through the city. The people seem to think I’m a Bollywood celebrity. I went to a Hindu temple last week. They have separate entrances for men and women I went up to the altar and handed their “priest” money and received Darshan (candy, a coconut, and a flower—I have no idea what the coconut was for but the candy is something very typical) he also put a bindi on my forehead (a red dot made of some mixture of seasonings). I wore it all day! It looked great. A gorgeous fashion statement!

On Saturday I’m off to Korea. That should be fascinating as no one speaks English there and I have a big presentation I’m doing for the media and then to a group of over 400 Korean women!

Namaste!